


Happy Birthday

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: (except they totally are), Gen, Hannibal almost regrets not shooting his shot sooner, M/M, two bros living together five rooms apart cuz they're not gay, will goes on a date with someone else
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-09 12:02:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20853119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: Will's birthday is fast approaching, but he has no idea what he wants. Luckily, Hannibal knows exactly what he wants to give.





	Happy Birthday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pragnificent (PragmaticHominid)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PragmaticHominid/gifts).

> Happy birthday to Pragnificent!

It had been three weeks of constantly looking over his shoulder, constantly second-guessing himself and everyone around him, and constantly fearing what the ‘next step’ would be. He just knew that Hannibal had to be up to something. He was being frustratingly silent, though.

Will made his way to the kitchen, grumbling to himself about how maybe he would be less jumpy if he cut back on his caffeine intake. But then he imagined trying to get through an entire day of teaching idiotic students without the benefit of a drug to keep him awake, and he just knew that he couldn’t do it.

There was already a fresh, steaming mug of coffee waiting for him on the island when he walked into the kitchen, and Will grabbed it eagerly. He knew that Hannibal stocked much better stuff than what Will usually bought at the grocery store. Hannibal had actually curled his lip up in disgust when he’d first seen Will’s Keurig. 

After the first few mouthfuls, Will already felt better, and he leaned against the island as he watched Hannibal cook. It was always a bit of a show, watching the way that Hannibal practically danced around the kitchen. “So I’ve been thinking…” he trailed off when Hannibal glanced over his shoulder at Will, and then just stared. “Uh, is there a problem?”

Hannibal turned off the stove, and then made his way over to Will, who clutched his mug tighter in case he needed to use it as a weapon. Hannibal reached up, ever so slowly, and grabbed the mug to set down on the table. Then he gently batted Will’s arms away, and began to unbutton Will’s shirt. “Looks like you missed a hole,” he murmured, and Will stood completely still, as if to avoid startling the other man. 

Will felt like his face was currently way too close to Hannibal, but he didn’t know how to pull away without losing one of his shirt’s buttons in the process. It felt like it took hours for Hannibal to finished unbuttoning the shirt, and then he buttoned it back up again, this time making sure that it was done properly. 

By the time Hannibal backed off, Will was sure that his face had to be several shades more pink than usual, and he grabbed his mug to take another couple gulps of now lukewarm coffee, and then hurried away without a word. What was up with Hannibal lately? He just kept acting so… weird.

,,,

Alana gave Will a warm smile as he walked into the restaurant they’d agreed upon. He was only a couple of minutes late, which honestly felt like a new record for him. He sat down across from her, and did his best to return the smile. “Hey.”

“You’re looking well, Will. Students going easy on you for once?”

He snorted. “As if. Oh, and, uh, you’re looking good too,” he added as he remembered his manners. “So what did you want to meet about?”

Alana laughed. “You make it sound as though it’s impossible for me to invite you to lunch simply because we’re friends.” She didn’t make Will respond to that statement, and continued on. “But I suppose in this case I do have something of an ulterior motive.” There was a mischievous gleam in her eyes, and Will was relieved to see that she hadn’t brought him here to ambush him about why he’d stopped working for Jack, or about how he was really doing. She leaned forward and spoke in a low voice, forcing Will to lean forward as well. “Your boyfriend requested my assistance in figuring out what you want for your birthday next week.”

Will’s shoulders slumped down, and he was glad to have a reason for Hannibal’s oddness lately. He must have been trying to observe Will to figure out what to get him. Either that, or he was annoyed by the fact that he’d been forced to ask for help. Then the other part of what Alana said struck him, and Will furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Alana leaned back in her seat and arched one eyebrow as she took a sip of her wine. “Oh please. I know that you two haven’t made any official announcements, but it’s not like either of you are exactly subtle. You live in the same house, he cooks you lunch to bring to work nearly everyday, you go on dates to the opera with him even though you hate dressing up, he let you bring all of your dogs into his house even though he hates messes and disorder. Shall I continue?”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Will insisted firmly. Though even as he said it, he wasn’t quite sure. But no, he’d know it if he and Hannibal were dating. It was a ridiculous thought, and he didn’t know where Alana got such wild ideas from. Besides, the word ‘boyfriend’ didn’t seem to fit Hannibal at all. It didn’t seem sophisticated enough for the man- not that it mattered since they weren’t together like that anyways. “We live together because I had nowhere else to go after my place burned down, he cooks lunch for himself anyways and it isn’t any extra effort to make a second portion, he likes having someone to show off to at the opera, and he does put restrictions on where my dogs are allowed to go within the house.” 

Alana rolled her eyes and took another sip of her wine. “Well I was only joking, but you certainly sounded quite defensive just now.”

“Don’t try to analyze me,” Will warned her, though he tried to stop himself from actually sounding threatening. 

She just laughed at him, and didn’t seem at all like she felt threatened. “Sorry, it’s hard to stop myself sometimes. But anyways, if you’re sure that you’re not dating Hannibal, then won’t you please let me set you up with someone? I have plenty of smart, attractive friends of any gender. Even if it doesn’t go well, at least you’d have tried. I just… I worry about you, Will. Even if you are living with Hannibal now, I still worry that you’re far too lonely.”

Will sighed, and reached up to grab his glasses so that he could wipe an imaginary smudge off with the corner of his shirt. “If I agree, will you leave me alone about this?” Alana nodded, and when Will slid his glasses back on and saw the eager look on her face, he already regretted giving in to her. 

,,,

Will grabbed his jacket off of the coat rack and pulled it on just as Hannibal poked his head out into the hallway. “Are you headed somewhere?” he asked in the most polite nosey way that Will had ever heard.

He looked down to grab at the zipper of his coat. “Yeah, I’ve got a date,” he responded distractedly. He was already running late, since he’d stopped and changed his shirt multiple times. Will didn’t want to get too dressed up, and make his date think that he was someone he wasn’t, but he also didn’t want to show up looking like a complete mess who hadn’t cared enough to try at all. In the end he’d decided that work clothes would be good enough, though it was a decision that hadn’t been made until at least twenty minutes after he should have already been out the door.

“Tonight?” Hannibal’s voice pulled Will out of his own thoughts. “I wasn’t aware you had any plans.”

Will finally looked up again, and thought that he saw a brief flash of disappointment across Hannibal’s face before the other man’s usual look of polite disinterest returned. “Yeah, sorry, didn’t think to mention it. Hope you didn’t already cook too much.”

Hannibal gave Will a fond smile. “It is of no matter. It is easy enough to store leftovers in the fridge. Good luck on your date, Will.” 

Will’s date was an attractive young person, wearing a nice summer blue dress that made Will feel as though he should have put more effort into his own outfit. “Ah, hi. Jesse, right? I’m Will.”

Jesse smiled at him, and Will noted that they had a pleasant enough smile. “Shall we?” They linked arms with Will, and then the two of them walked in to the art exhibit together. It wasn’t Will’s usual scene, but he’d heard Hannibal talk about art often enough that he’d managed to pick up a thing or two. At least enough to not sound like a total idiot. 

He quickly learned that Jesse was mostly quiet and soft spoken, but when they spotted works that they particularly liked, they sounded quite passionate talking about them. Will decided that he didn’t mind the energetic version of his date, because they sounded so happy to be able to talk about something they cared about. 

At one point, the two of them stopped in front of a painting of a woman sitting in a field of flowers, staring off into the distance at something invisible to anyone but her. “She looks quite thoughtful,” Jesse said, staring intently at the painting.

“Or bored.”

Jesse snorted, and shook their head. “No way. See, there’s the tiniest bit of a smile on her face. She’s content where she is. I think she’s looking at something interesting, not just lost in thought.” They tilted their head to look up at Will. “She’s a bit like me, I suppose, because I’m also looking at something quite interesting.”

Will felt his cheeks heat up a bit, and stuffed his hands into his pockets as he resolutely kept staring at the painting. “Jesse, I’ve had a surprisingly good time tonight, but-”

“It’s okay.” They reached up to put their hand on Will’s arm. “Alana told me that you would be a tough one to crack, and I told her that I was excited by the challenge. I had a lovely time tonight too, and I’m not going to lie, I feel a bit of a connection between us, but I think that I’d really like for us to be friends.” They pulled their hand away, and waited patiently for Will to turn and look at them. “I’m not ready to call it a night yet. Come on, there’s still an entire wing that we haven’t checked out.” They hurried off, and Will only hesitated for a moment before following. Now that the pressure of their ‘date’ was off, Will was sure that he’d be able to enjoy his night even more.

,,,

He and Jesse parted ways in the parking lot, since they’d both arrived in separate cars, and planned on going to their own homes. They did exchange phone numbers, though. Will found that he was actually looking forward to spending more time with Jesse in the future, though not in any kind of romantic context. Still, Alana would surely be happy to hear that Will had made a new friend, since she liked treating him like he was still in kindergarten.

Will drove home and then went inside. As soon as he opened the front door, he could smell something good, and he followed his nose to the big dining room. Hannibal didn’t use that room too often, since it was unnecessary for just the two of them, which left Will to wonder what was going on.

He stepped inside the room, and someone flicked the light on as several people shouted out ‘surprise!’ at the same time. Will paused and blinked a few times as he processed what was going on. There was a small crowd waiting for him, made up of Hannibal, Alana, Beverly, Jimmy, Brian, and a few other vaguely familiar faces that he either recognized from work or from an outing with Hannibal. 

There was food set all over one half of the table, and a small pile of presents on the other. Will looked around in confusion. “What’s-” then he suddenly remembered the day, and resisted the urge to reach up and smack himself in the forehead. It was his birthday today, and he’d somehow managed to forget about it. No wonder Hannibal had seemed confused that Will would chose today to go out on a first date with someone. “Ah, thanks you guys,” he told them awkwardly. 

Alana turned around and turned on some music, and it was stuff that Will thought he recognized from the radio. He glanced at Hannibal, and was surprised to see that his housemate didn’t look as bothered by the song selection as Will would have guessed. 

With the music playing, and the food clearly intended to be eaten buffet style, everyone began to mingle around the room. It was Friday night, which meant that none of them needed to be anywhere urgently in the morning, which gave them plenty of time to socialize even though it was already a little bit late. 

Almost everyone went up to Will at one point or another to wish him a happy birthday, and he thanked all of them- even the ones whose names he didn’t know. Once he’d stuck around for long enough to feel like he wasn’t committing any major social faux pas’, Will grabbed a slice of cake and then slipped away to go outside. One of Hannibal’s rules was that the dogs had to go outside whenever there was a dinner party, and Will assumed that this would count under that rule, since he hadn’t seen any signs of dog hair inside.

He set the cake down on the small glass table that decorated the back porch, and then dropped down to his knees on the grass as his dogs all rushed over to him. The only reason he wasn’t knocked down by them was because he had plenty of practice in being affectionately mauled. 

Once the dogs had all calmed down from the excitement of seeing him, he sat down on the edge of the porch, and let the dogs settle down around him. He grabbed his cake first, and since it wasn’t chocolate, he shared a small bite with each of the animals. When the plate was empty, Will set it aside, and then leaned back to stare up at the sky. The stars were starting to come out, and it was a nice clear night to be looking at them.

Will wasn’t sure exactly how long he sat there before he heard the sound of the backdoor opening, and then a couple of the dogs budged to the side so that Hannibal could sit down next to Will. “Is the party not to your liking?”

Will shrugged. “Not really. And it has been kind of a long day for me. But at least I get free presents, right? Or is it wrong of me to accept presents from people I barely know and barely interacted with?”  
Hannibal chuckled softly. “They brought those gifts for you because they wanted you to have them. There is one that wasn’t in the stack, though.” He paused for a moment before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a long leather-looking box. “Happy birthday, Will.”

Will took the box, though he suddenly felt very awkward about it because he hadn’t gotten anything for Hannibal’s latest birthday (and actually, now that he thought about it, he wasn’t even sure when Hannibal’s birthday was. Well, he’d just have to try extra hard to remember to get something for Christmas, then). He opened the box, and saw a shiny black watch. It was a little bit ostentatious for Will’s usual style, but not as bad as he could have expected to get from Hannibal. “Thank you, it’s really nice.”

“It was my father’s. I have held on to it for many years now, but could never bear the thought of wearing it myself. Too many memories. But if it’s you, then I think that it would be alright. Perhaps I could begin to associate that watch with better memories.”

Will gulped. He wasn’t sure what the protocol was for receiving gifts of jewelry that had belonged to dead people. But it was a nice watch, and the sentiment was nice as well, so Will pulled it out of the box to strap around his wrist. He struggled with it for a few seconds before Hannibal reached over and clasped it for him. “Thanks,” he repeated. Then he tried to think of something that would clear the strange tension that suddenly seemed to surround them. “Do you want to hear something funny? Alana thought that you and I were dating. Just because we live in the same house. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

“Indeed,” Hannibal responded in a voice that seemed almost like a low growl. “If we were together then there would be no mistaking the reasons why.”

Will’s eyes widened. “Uh, what did you-”

“How did your date go tonight?” Hannibal suddenly asked.

Will blinked a few times, feeling somewhat thrown by the sudden question. “Uh, alright, I guess. We decided to be friends.”

Hannibal grinned, and his eyes seemed to practically glow in the dark. “Good. Then allow me to extend an invitation for a date that will certainly end differently.”

Will gulped. “Sounds great,” he choked out. Well, this wasn’t exactly what he’d wished for when he’d blown out the candles, but… he’d take it. How could he not, when it was Hannibal who was asking?


End file.
